


Snuggles, Scales, and Birthday Sweets

by Des98



Series: What if? [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: All sorts of birthday fun, Birthday Fluff, Dragon Reserve, F/F, Harry’s birthday, M/M, Minerva and Poppy raise Harry, Minerva is a BAMF old lesbian, Please enjoy this pure fluff, Small babs, Toddler!Ro, Writing this is such a balm for the soul, Young Remus Lupin, Young Severus Snape, Young Sirius Black, everyone loves harry, honestly, sweet baby, toddler!harry, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 06:31:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15213245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Des98/pseuds/Des98
Summary: Harry’s second birthday.  Fluffy goodness.





	Snuggles, Scales, and Birthday Sweets

    Minerva was lying in her bed next to Poppy on the last day of July, enjoying the early morning light filtering in through the curtains, when Harry’s cheerful little voice rang from the nursery.

    “Good morning, g’d mornin,’ g’d morning!” he sang, and his mums knew from experience that he’d be sitting up by now, his curls mussed from sleep and his Paddy and Wolfy plushies nearby, one in his arms and one in his lap.  He was still in a crib, as Minnie and Poppy were worried he would fall out of a toddler bed, and as a result they put nappies on him at night so he wouldn’t try to climb over the bars to go to the bathroom (they’d found out the hard way that he was unwilling to wake them up in the middle of the night if he needed something- he’d been running a high fever a few weeks ago, but, not wanting to bother them, had tossed and turned all night and they hadn’t realised he was ill until morning).  He was always very eager to put on his ‘big boy pants’ when he woke up, and Poppy laughed as she came and pulled him out of the crib and onto the changing table.

    “Good morning darling,” she told him pleasantly as she pulled out a new pair of pull-ups.  “Do you know what today is?”

    “T’ursday?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

    “Well yes, it _is_ Thursday,” she conceded.  “But do you know what _else_ is going on today?”

    “Hmmm…” he tapped one little index finger against the side of his head as he thought.  “Feed Minty day?”

    “Oh, well I suppose it’s that too,” Poppy realised-  they fed the adder a rat once a week, and today happened to be feeding day as well.  “But it’s _also_ your birthday!”

    “My birfday- I two now?” he asked eagerly, and Poppy nodded.

    “Yay!” he clapped his pudgy hands together.  “Same as Won!”

    “Yes- you and Ron are the _same_ age now,” she agreed, tickling his belly as his joyful peals of laughter rang throughout the room.  “And we actually had an idea for your birthday- if you want to, that is?”

    “What is it?” her son asked, still giggling.   

    “We thought that we could go with the Weasleys to a dragon reserve in Romania and you could see all the dragons and we could have a picnic,” she said, and Harry squealed in excitement.

    “Dwagons?!” he cheeped, eyes lighting up.  “I _wuv_ dwagons!”

    “I know you do,” the medi-witch laughed.  “So, should we wear your favourite dragon t-shirt and your dragonhide boots?”

    “Yes pwease!” he squealed, clapping his hands.  The dragon on his t-shirt was green and blew flames as it moved around the black material, and Harry loved it- so much so that the elves washed it almost every day, since the sweet little bean was always so happy when they brought it to him clean.

    “Alright- all dressed,” Mama Flower told him as she lifted him down to the floor.  They were going down to the Great Hall for breakfast when Harry passed one of his favourite elves, and he toddled over to her happily.

    “Fwopsy!” he proclaimed, reaching out to wrap her in a hug and burying his face in her long, soft ears.  “It’s my birfday,” he told her, as she squawked in surprise but hugged him back- he always treated her and the other elves so well, like equals- which they weren’t used to.

    “Happy Birthday, Little Master Harry,” she congratulated, although of course she had already known.  She and the elves she trusted most had been up late into the night baking a cake and preparing a picnic for his trip to the dragon reserve and making his favourite pastries to go with breakfast.

    “T’anks!” he said brightly.  “Here- I got a sticker for your piwow case,” he said, sticking a bright ‘good job!’ star sticker from a pack his mums had bought him in Privet Drive last weekend.

    “Oh, Flopsy be thanking yous, sweet little master,” she warbled, and then popped away before he could see that she was about to cry at the sweet gesture.

    “Why won’t Fwopsy just call me Hawwy?” he asked his mums as they each held one of his hands.  “I ask and I ask but she never do.”

    “It’s just how they are, darling- she doesn’t mean to make you feel bad, it’s just that she worries she’d be disrespectful to call you by _just_ your name,” Minerva explained.

    “Why would dat be dis-we-spect-ful?” he continued his line of questioning, stumbling a bit over the long word.

    “It wouldn’t, dear, but house elves just don’t feel comfortable that way, so we have to respect their choices,” Poppy answered, and Harry looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded.

    “O-kay,” he didn’t seem to get it completely, but he trusted Mama Mins and Mama Flower, so their word was enough for him to get that that’s just how it was- he’d probably ‘understand when he was older’ (something Sevvy was always saying).

    “Good morning Harry,” Pomona greeted cheerfully when they reached the hall.  “Happy birthday.”

    “Happy birthday,” Severus grumbled into his coffee cup, but Harry seemed to appreciate it nonetheless.

    “T’anks!” he told the two, before scrunching his face and concentrating very hard (if Pomona didn’t know he was potty-trained, she would have thought he was trying to poop).  Soon, two slightly lopsided and _very colourful_ party hats appeared on the table, and he reached to put Sevvy’s on as Professor Sprout did so of her own volition.

    “You comin’ to da pawty?” he asked the dour Slytherin, who nodded.  “Yes, I am. Your mothers put all my potions in stasis without consulting me first.”

    “Good,” Harry said.  “You work too hard.” He sounded rather adult in that moment, and rather like Poppy, who was always saying this to upper-years who came in for nervous breakdowns around exams.

    “He’s parroting both of you,” the young man groaned as he reached to pour himself another cup, and Harry smiled.

    _“Squawk,  sqwuak!”_ he cried, showing off a new tooth that was coming in towards the back.  “I’m a pawwot!”

    “Yes, yes you are,” Severus agreed.  “Now eat your eggs.” Harry complied happily, picking up his fork in clumsy fingers and trying his best not to spill anything while Minerva filled his sippy cup with chocolate milk.

    “Do _you_ wike miwk, Sevvy?” he asked conversationally as he licked chocolate off his upper lip.  “Mamas said it makes you gwow big and stwong- Mama Flower says you too skinny.” He proffered the sippy cup to Snape, who pushed it back towards him very gently.

    “Thank you Harry, but I’m alright.”  The child looked up at him skeptically.

    “Oh, _fine,”_ he picked up the pitcher of cream and poured some into his coffee, even though he normally preferred it black.  “That better?”

    “Yes,” Harry nodded approvingly.  “Much better.” The others smiled- Severus wouldn’t admit it, but Harry already had him wrapped around his little finger.

____

    “Woah,” Harry, hand in hand with Ron, gasped in awe as their port key dropped them off at the dragon reserve, looking at the craggy mountains and shady forests where the large reptiles could live their lives without the chance of being spotted by muggles and causing a scandal.  Charlie’s expression mirrored Harry’s- fascination and excitement as they watched a Welsh Greenback skimming the treetops as its sharp eye searched the forest below for food. Minty curled around Harry’s upper arm opposite the hand that was linked with Ron’s, and Molly still eyed the snake warily out of the corner of her eye, Ginny snoozing happily in a carrier strapped to her chest.  Arthur hadn’t been able to get the day off work, but all of the other Weasleys (along with Sirius and Remus) were there, even Percy, who looked somewhat dubious about his decision to leave his books for the day as a rustling in the bushes caused him to jump sideways.

    “It’s okay bro- just a regular old lizard, see,” Bill pointed out, laughing, as the small reptile scurried away.  “Now _relax_ \- I’ve already got the picnic basket, so supporting your weight as well is a little much.”  His younger brother blushed and stopped clutching his arm quite so hard.

    _“Whatcha t’ink, Minty?”_ Harry asked his adder, who looked around, disinterested.

    _“It’s nice enough, tiny human, but I like the sssstone fortressss jusssst fine,”_ he replied dismissively, referring, of course, to Hogwarts.  Severus listened to their conversation with interest, Harry’s hissing somehow sounding just as chipper and pleasant as his normal voice.

    “Hello, it’s nice to see you all here so bright and cheerful,” the manager of the reserve, a petite Asian witch with a single ovular burn scar on her chest came up to greet them.  “I’m Sia, and I’ll be taking you around here today- and you,” she said, bending over to put her hands on her knees as her voice rose an octave, “must be the birthday boy!”

    “I’m Hawwy- I’m two,” he stuck his hand out, and she laughed as she shook it, charmed.  “Dis is Minty.” He motioned to the adder, who merely gave a lazy hiss.

    “He says hi,” Harry translated, and Sia positively _beamed._

    “You’re a Parselmouth?” She asked eagerly, and Harry nodded.

    “Oh, that’s simply _wonderful!_ Dragons speak parseltongue too, you know, so you’ll be able to talk to them.”

    “Really?” Harry brightened considerably- and he was already so happy that it didn’t quite seem possible.  “I talk to da dwagons?”

    “Yes, if you’d like to,” she told him.  “Here- we’ll start with a friendly little Greenback over here.”  She led them through the trees and along a forest path, and Harry’s little legs were working so hard to keep up with her excited pace that Severus eventually picked him up, mindful of the snake resting its head on his shoulder, as he glared at the back of Sia’s head.

    “Wook, Sevvy!” Harry pointed to the stream, where not only a Greenback but also a Chinese Fireball were drinking on the opposite bank.

    _“‘Lo!”_ He called to them in Parseltongue, and their heads shot up.

    _“You hear that?”_ The Greenback turned to the Fireball, who snorted in affirmation.

_“Tiny human is a speaker,”_ the Chinese dragon said, and they both took flight and landed in front of Harry, startling Severus, who jumped back.

    “Mother of Merlin!” He swore, but the toddler simply reached out to pat the snout of the closest dragon, the Greenback.

    _“Nice dragon,”_ he praised, and the Welsh dragon huffed pleasantly as the pudgy little hand rubbed its scales.

    _“You good dwagon too,”_ he told the fireball, and Mint Chocolate Chip scurried up to rest on the child’s head, disgruntled, as Harry’s other arm reached out to stroke the joint of a red and black wing.

    _“We have not heard of a speaker in these parts for many a year,”_ the Greenback said.   _“There was one once, trying to recruit us for something, but he was cruel and we didn’t like him, so we made it clear he was not welcome.”_

_“Yeah,”_ Harry agreed.   _“If you can’t pway nice, you gotta go bye-bye,”_ he said wisely, in that adorable way of his.

    “Well,” Minerva turned to her wife.  “I knew our baby was loveable, of course, but _this_ is a little farther than I saw it going.”

    “Should we invite them to stay for lunch- what is the protocol when your son makes a new draconian friend?” Poppy whispered back, but Harry heard.

    _“Wanna stay for wunch? - we have cake!”_ He offered the scaly, winged creatures, and one looked at the other.

    _“I like cake.”_

_“Me too.”_

_“Alright,”_ the Fireball agreed.   _“Sounds like a nice way to pass an afternoon.”_

___

    The dragons insisted on lighting Harry’s candles for him, and they were surprisingly skilled with the gentle jet of flame they directed.  Harry blew out the three candles- two for his age and one to grow on- with a silent wish that everyone was happy. He himself was _beyond_ delighted when his mamas presented him with his own little training wand (a toy for little wizards made pretty colored lights spill out when the tiny tot touched it), a new pair of quidditch boots (since he was outgrowing his other ones) and a number of other toys and games.  Sirius gave him a little leather jacket and helmet for when he took him on his flying bike (which caused Poppy and Minerva to shoot him disproving looks- that was _dangerous),_ and “Uncle Moony” gave him a much safer gift of picture books to help him learn his magical creatures.  Severus even got him a little kit to carry his potions ingredients (and glared at anyone who dared remark on how sweet it was of him to do so).

    The Weasleys didn’t have a lot of money to spare, of course, but Molly made him a batch of homemade fudge and a Weasley sweater, which Harry loved, and Ron drew a picture of him and Harry playing in the garden, which caused Harry to give his best friend a big, sloppy wet kiss on the cheek.  When gift time was presumably over and all the presents shrunk and packed away into the now-empty picnic basket, Percy shyly came forward with a parcel wrapped in old Daily Prophets.

    “Er, I know that you like it when I read to you, and that you’re learning pretty well yourself, so I thought I’d give you my favourite book from when _I_ was learning to read,” he said shyly, and Harry beamed and opened the package to reveal a small chapter book, full of pictures, that told the story of the founding of Hogwarts in a very simple manner.

    “Ooh- Hogwarts!” He said, by now able to recognize the name of the castle written on paper.  “T’anks Pewcy!” He carefully put the book aside and ran up to give the six-year-old a big hug, and Percy couldn’t help but smile as he hugged him back.

    “You’re welcome, Harry- I’m glad to meet someone who likes reading as much as I do,” he said, and jumped slightly when Minty curiously bumped a red curl with his nose- he’d forgotten that the snake had been wrapped lazily around Harry’s shoulders.

    “Books are fun,” Harry announced in response, and everyone laughed- Harry somehow managed to have a quality that endeared him to each of the Weasleys with their vastly different personalities, which was kind of a miracle, honestly, as getting that many children to agree on _anything_ was like pulling teeth.

_____

    Harry spent the afternoon running around with his friends and playing with the dragons, and there was even one young Hungarian Horntail who let him _ride_ her, which none of the others were even aware of until he called out “Wook, Mamas!” From twenty feet above him, and nobody’s hearts left their throats until he was back safely on the ground.  By the time they’d gotten back to Hogwarts, Harry was more than happy to have a warm bath and be wrapped in comfortable pj’s.

    “T’anks mamas,” he murmured drowsily into Poppy’s shoulder as she rocked him gently while making a bottle to help him settle down.  “Had fun today.”

    “We’re glad, baby,” she whispered back as Minerva tiptoed out to get the camera and capture the precious scene.  “You deserve the world.”

    “Alweady got it,” he said before an enormous yawn worked its way out of his little mouth and his eyes fluttered closed, a little bit of drool falling on Poppy’s shoulder as the first snore of the night made its appearance.

    “So do we, darling- so do we,” the healer whispered back to the sleeping child as a tear stole its way down her cheek.


End file.
